Abstract
Objective:
falls and the fear of falling are an important problem of public health among the elderly. This work aims to evaluate the fear of elderly concerning new falls and to identify in which activities these happen.
Methodology:
26 aged (76,2 ± 6,3 years, 84.6% were female) from the Family Health Programs “Jockey Clube” and “Três Lagos”, in Marília, São Paulo. The evaluation of fear of new falls was made using the Falls Efficacy Scale International elaborated by PROFANES, divided in three parts: everyday activities (EA), physical activity (PA) and social activity (SA).
Results:
most part of participants revealed great concern with new falls in activities such as home cleaning (73,1%). Concerning PA, most people showed concern with the accomplishment of activities such as sitting down or stading up (73%). In social activities, for most questions evaluated a great concern was expressed. The average of falls was higher for ages 75-84 years (2,9) as compared to other ages (2,4 - ³ 85 years; 1,63 - 65 to the 74 years).
Conclusion:
The study allowed to observe that elderly people are very much concerned with new falls in basic everyday activities.
Key words:
fear; accidental falls; activities of daily living; motor activity; leisure activities; aged; women; Family Health Program; Public Health; Marília city, São Paulo
